MJay

Overall, how is the premedical program at UM? I'd like to get any input I can. I'm most interested in the following things:

Quality of the premedical advising and guidance
Approachability, on average / in general, of the science professors
Ease of access to research opportunities
Grade inflation or deflation, or the use of bell curves in grading
Rates of admission to medical schools (an often scrutinized figure, but I'm still interested)
A list of the medical schools that the last class of UM premed students is attending
How the program compares to the UF premed program

I know some posters may deem the answers to some of these questions irrelevant, but I am interested nonetheless. Any and all information is greatly apprevciated.

MJay

Bumpin' this thread. Especially interested in the rates of admission to med schools, though I recognize the questionable nature of that statistic.

MJay

...anybody?

burgler09

It is very good because you have a lot of opportunity for research at UM. Premed is premed anywhere, but come on, UM's Med school is top notch.

MJay

Well, i'm slightly disillusioned by UM's research opportunities because I learned that freshmen are not eligible to be placed into research positions by the school's research office.

I actually haven't heard very much about UM's med school's prestige, either. I'm sure its a great med school (beyond the fact that ANY US med school is a good med school), but on what do you base your analysis? I don't doubt it at all, just curious to learn more. Thanks.

burgler09

i just hear it from other people, I don't have much of an interest in med-school. I'm going to dental school, but it seems from a general concensus that UM has a great med school. Now, why does it matter if you get a research position your fresh year or not, but I was under the impression research is open to freshman.. (i'm a transfer student, biochem major)

MJay

Doing research during your freshman year isn't important to everybody, but its something I'd like to do. I want to get involved in meaningful laboratory or clinical work in the near future.

burgler09

Right, but Miami is really good about getting you in... and just because it isn't in your freshman year doesn't mean you can't be doing it your soph, junior and senior year... Where did you hear Freshman can't be in research positions at the university? They sure made it sound like freshman could get in when I did a visit.. Theres really no such thing as a "premed program" basically you pick a major and you take all of your prereqs and your MCAT and apply.. theres no major called premed. I'd choose Miami over UF.. I didn't like the atmosphere at UF at all.. Miami is only getting better and the student:teacher is really good too.

MJay

Actually, while Premed isn't a major, there is a Premedical program. In addition to taking the Premedicine Track required courses, you also have an adviser[s]. In fact, most medical schools require that you submit the coveted Premedical Committee letter that this department will provide you with as a premedical student.

I was told by a school official from the Office of Undergraduate Research that she is not able to place freshmen into research unless they have previous research experience.

And yeah, of course you can still do research during your undergraduate years without doing it as a freshman, but, like I said, I'm really interested in research and would like to get involved as soon as possible.

Might any present UM premed students be able to offer some insight into this topic?

burgler09

lol mjay.. you aren't going to get a research position before you take classes in your field.. who the hell is going to hire a kid for a research position who hasnt even taken gen chem yet.

J'adoube

MJay, look into Vanderbilt University. They seem to be big on research even at the medical school level (friend chose a different medical school because there was too much emphasis on research at Vanderbilt).

MJay

Thanks for the info J'adoube, but it's a bit late for that. I'm a senior in high school, so the time to apply for undergrad colleges is long past. lol

Unless you meant that I should look into Vandy's medical school, which it sounds like I really should.

And burgler90: I probably should have been more clear; I'm not talking about paid positions. I don't expect to be hired for any research position. I would think, however, that some of the basic lab duties in a study or clinical trial are sometimes allotted to volunteer freshman undergraduate students who are in a class or classes related to the research. Though I guess I could be wrong.